Adobe has introduced three new adjustment layers to Photoshop: Clarity, Dehaze and Grain. These controls were previously available only through Camera Raw and the Camera Raw Filter. They are now accessible as standard, non-destructive adjustment layers within the main Photoshop layer stack.

According to Adobe, the new layers behave like other adjustment layers. They can be masked, reordered, blended and revisited at any time without altering the underlying image data. This brings parity between Camera Raw based workflows and traditional Photoshop compositing, reducing the need to commit early to contrast or texture decisions.

Clarity adjusts midtone contrast, Dehaze targets low-frequency contrast loss caused by atmospheric scatter, and Grain applies a controllable film-style noise pattern. Adobe does not specify whether the underlying algorithms are identical to those in Camera Raw, only that the controls are now natively available in Photoshop.

Generative tools move to higher resolution

Adobe has updated several Firefly-powered features in Photoshop, including Generative Fill, Generative Expand and the Remove tool. Output resolution has been increased to up to 2K. Adobe states this results in sharper detail, fewer visible artefacts and improved alignment with text prompts.

The company also highlights improvements to Reference Image support. When a reference is supplied, the generative system is intended to better preserve object identity, including scale, orientation, lighting, colour and perspective. Adobe positions this as a way to reduce iterative prompting when compositing generated elements into existing plates.

Dynamic Text enters beta

A new Dynamic Text feature, currently labelled as beta, allows users to transform text layers into predefined shapes such as circles, arcs and curves with a single action. The text remains editable and automatically conforms to the chosen shape without requiring manual path creation.

Adobe frames this as a productivity feature for layout and graphic design tasks. The company does not indicate whether the system supports custom shapes or whether it exposes underlying typographic controls beyond the provided presets. As a beta feature, behaviour and availability may change.

Availability and platforms

These updates are available now in Photoshop on desktop. The improved generative tools are also available in Photoshop on the web. No changes to pricing or subscription structure are mentioned. Photoshop remains available exclusively via Adobe’s subscription model.

As with all new or updated tools, Adobe recommends testing features in non-critical projects before integrating them into production workflows. New tools and innovations should always be validated in real-world conditions before use on actual client work.

// Adobe blog announcement on new Photoshop features
// https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2026/01/27/new-photoshop-innovations-provide-creative-pros-more-control-realism-precision

The post Photoshop gets less destructive and slightly less vague first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.